KR101735214B1 - Lower-Body Assistance Robot - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a lower body assistance robot assisting movements of the lower body of a user. The multi-degree of freedom with respect to joints of the lower body of the user is allowed, so wearing senses of the user are improved. Abduction is provided to the lower extremities which have weakened muscular strength and are easy to rotate in the central direction of both lower extremities, so more stable and natural walking of the user can be assisted.

Description

Lower-Body Assistance Robot

The present invention relates to a lower body supporting robot. More particularly, the present invention relates to a lower body auxiliary robot for assisting a user's lower body movement, and more specifically, to a lower body auxiliary robot for supporting a user's lower body behavior, The present invention relates to a lower body supporting robot which can provide a stable and natural user's walking by providing external electric power to a user's base which is easily rotated (adduction).

A robot is a machine that processes or operates a task assigned by itself or an instruction, and is widely used in various fields in recent years.

Among these robots, robots which are worn by users and assist the movement of the body are introduced and used in various ways.

However, since the robot is restricted from the road surface condition, it has a multi-joint skeleton structure that imitates the movement or motion of a person or an animal in order to be free from such restriction. Robots are being studied and introduced.

Also, as a robot having such a multi-joint skeletal structure, a lower body supporting robot which is worn by the user and assists a user's lower body behavior is representative.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] In general, a lower body supporting robot is provided with a driving force corresponding to a strength for walking of a user from a driving device such as an electric motor and a hydraulic driving device to assist the user's walking.

When the lower body supporting robot has a part of the lower body function of the user to be worn, that is, only one function of the lower body is lost, only the function of a part of the lower body area is lost or the lower body can move, It is preferable that the lower body supporting robot allow some degree of freedom of the joint of the lower body of the user unless the lower body function is completely lost as in the case where the muscular strength should be assisted through the lowering.

If the lower body supporting robot, which is driven by a user having a function of the lower body partially exists, is driven in a state where the degree of freedom of the user's joint is limited, inconvenience to wear the lower body auxiliary robot by the user may be caused Further, the lower body as well as the lower body of the user, which is the object of driving the lower body supporting robot, may be caused to suffer from the upper body organs connected with the nerve and muscles.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a lower body supporting robot having a multi-degree of freedom through a degree of freedom combination of the joints so as to assist the user's walking and allow the user's joint degree of freedom to be appropriately permitted.

The lower body supporting robot having a multi-degree of freedom is configured to have a degree of freedom in a certain direction so that the corresponding part of the lower body corresponding to the rotatable region of the user's body, for example, the pelvis, the hip joint and the knee joint, As the robot, the lower body supporting robot having the multi-degree of freedom assists the gait behavior of the user while appropriately allowing the joint degree of freedom of the lower body of the user, so that the wearer's feeling of comfort with respect to the lower body supporting robot can be increased.

However, in general, the wearer wearing the lower body auxiliary robot more than the function of the lower body usually has weakened abduction which rotates both legs away from each other in the direction perpendicular to the walking direction. In the middle of running, the legs can not withstand the loads of the body and the lower limbs during the erecting period, so that they are admitted in the center direction of both lower legs, resulting in a Trendelenburg gait phenomenon in which the pelvis area of the lower limb descends in the direction of gravity.

Such an attempt to compensate for the treadmill bugweed by the strength of the body or the like causes a load on the user's body and can provide a result opposite to the original purpose of the lower body assistance robot.

Therefore, the lower body supporting robot should be designed to assist the walking of the user, prevent the user's lower extremity from being struck during the stance, prevent a load on the user's body, and provide more natural walking assistance.

However, the above-described lower body supporting robot which allows the rotation of multi-degrees of freedom to the user's lower body joint allows a degree of freedom corresponding to abduction and civil war of the user's pelvis and / or hip joint region, It is general that the load of the lower body supporting robot can not be accommodated due to the weakening of the external force due to the lowering of the strength of the lower body or the malfunction of the lower body and there is a problem that the pelvis and /

Further, the degree of freedom corresponding to abduction and extinction of the user's pelvis and / or hip joint region permitted through the lower body supporting robot is a trade-off with the anti-adverse function of the lower body supporting robot.

Therefore, it is possible to assist the walking of the user by assisting the walking of the user by appropriately allowing the joint degree of freedom of the lower body of the user, and to assist the walking of the user comfortably, There is a need for a lower body supporting robot which can prevent the inconvenience or pain of the user's body and can realize a more natural gait behavior.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for supporting a walking of a user by worn by a user and allowing multi-degrees of freedom of a user's lower body joint to improve comfort of a user, And a lower body supporting robot which can be operated by a lower body.

In order to solve the above problems, a lower body supporting robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is a lower body supporting robot that assists a user in the X-axis direction walking motion in the Z-axis direction on the XY plane, A pair of pelvis members mounted on the body portion and having a rotational degree of freedom in the center of a roll axis ROLL AXIS parallel to the X axis direction, A pair of hip joints rotatably driven by a driving device for driving the lower body supporting robot and having a rotation degree of freedom in the center of the pitch axis PITCH AXIS parallel to the Y axis direction for walking, A pair of thigh members driven according to the driving of the hip joint, a knee joint unit driven by the driving unit provided separately from the other end of the thigh member, And an abduction unit for connecting the pair of leg members and a pair of the pelvis members connected to each other via the pivot member and generating a restoring force against internal rotation which is an inward rotation operation of the center of the roll axis of the pelvis member .

In addition, the anti-adduction unit may be a gas spring, and the anti-adherence unit may generate the restoring force by rebounding by compression of the gas spring at the time of adduction of the pelvis member.

The internal-strength-preventing unit may generate the restoring force that cancels the rotational driving caused by the internal resistance of the pelvis member corresponding to the pelvis region of the user's leg during the swinging period.

Here, the pair of pelvis members are hinged to the main body by the rotation axis of each of the roll axes, so that the restoring force provided by the anti-adduction unit can be simultaneously applied.

In this case, one end of the pair of pelvis members is hinged to the lower front of the main body, and the other end of the pair of pelvis members is bent in the lateral direction of the user so that the hip joint is positioned and mounted on the user's hip region Can be extended.

In addition, the hip joint may be mounted on the pelvis so that the hip joint can rotate around a yaw axis (YAW) parallel to the Z-axis direction with respect to the pelvis.

The hip joint and the knee joint are driven by one driving device, and the knee joint is composed of a thigh member driven by the driving device and a separate link member connecting the hip joint and the knee joint, Can be driven.

Here, the main body includes a battery for supplying power to the driving device for driving the driving device, and a controller for controlling driving of the lower body auxiliary robot by applying a control signal according to the user's intention to walk to the driving device .

In this case, the main body part may be in the form of a backpack detachable so that its front surface is opposed to the back area of the user.

Further, the robot may further include a scaffold member attached to a lower portion of the lower leg member to support the lower body supporting robot from the ground.

According to the lower body subordinate robot of the present invention, it is possible to minimize the inconvenience of the user to the lower body subordinate robot by assisting the user's walking and allowing a multi-degree of freedom to the user lower body through the combination of degrees of freedom of the multi- .

In addition, by supporting the abutting torque as a supporting force for preventing adiabatic force of the user's lower limb, the user's lower limb during the stomach motion can be prevented from being admitted in the center direction of both lower limbs, thereby realizing more natural gait behavior of the user.

1 is a perspective view of a lower body supporting robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a part of each of the hip joint and the knee joint which is driven through a separate driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 illustrates a connection relationship between a hip joint and a knee joint driven by sharing the same driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 shows a hip joint mounted on a pelvis member for rotation in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 shows the walking of the Trandelane burg and the normal walking according to the lowering of the abduction of the user.
Fig. 6 shows a partial area of each of the lower limb-assisted robot not including the anti-adherence unit and the lower body subordinate robot including the anti-adduction unit according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 7 shows the repulsion by compression of an adiabatic protection unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments disclosed herein are provided so that the disclosure can be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.

1 is a perspective view of a lower body supporting robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The lower body supporting robot 100 according to the present invention has a purpose of assisting the normal lower body movement of the user by wearing the lower body because the function of the lower body is not normal,

Here, the user wearing the lower body supporting robot 100 can be described on the basis of the fact that the user stands up in the Z-axis direction on the XY plane. Accordingly, the lower body supporting robot 100 ) Can function to assist a user's walking motion in the X-axis direction in the Z-axis direction on the XY plane.

The lower body supporting robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 110 to be worn on the body of a user and to supply power and control signals to the main body 110, A pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b having a rotational degree of freedom in the center of the roll axis ROLL AXIS, x ', a pitch axis 120a and 120b mounted on the pelvis members 120a and 120b and parallel to the Y- A pair of hip joints 130a and 130b rotatably driven by driving devices 50a and 50b for driving the lower body supporting robot 100 with a rotation degree of freedom in the center of the hip joint axis PITCH AXIS, y ' A pair of thigh members 140a and 140b connected to one ends of the thigh members 140a and 140b and one end of the thigh members 140a and 140b driven by the driving of the hip joints 130a and 130b, 50a and 50b or the knee joints 150a and 150b driven by the driving devices 60a and 60b provided separately 120b which are connected to the pair of leg members 160a and 160b and a pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b and rotate in the inward direction of the center of the roll axis x 'of the pelvis members 120a and 120b And an adiabatic prevention unit 170 for generating a restoring force against internal rotation.

The main body 110 is attached to the body of the user and serves to fasten the center of the lower body supporting robot 100 to the body of the user, and a pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b are mounted And can function as the driving center of the lower body supporting robot 100 since it is driven with respect to the body portion 110. [

In addition, the main body 110 may provide power and control signals for driving the lower body subordinate robot 100, and may function as a walking assistant for the user of the lower body subordinate robot 100 have.

Specifically, the main body 110 includes a battery 115 that supplies power for driving the driving devices 50a and 50b to the driving devices 50a and 50b, (Not shown) for controlling the driving of the lower body supporting robot 100 by applying the driving force to the driving devices 50a and 50b.

The controller may determine a walking intention of a user wearing the lower body supporting robot 100 and supply a control signal to the driving devices 50a and 50b for driving the lower body supporting robot 100. [

For this purpose, the controller or the lower body supporting robot 100 may be configured to determine whether the user's walking cycle, that is, whether the user's lower limbs supporting the ground or the user's lower limbs swing without supporting the ground (Not shown) for detecting a walking cycle of the user, and may supply a suitable control signal to the driving devices 50a and 50b according to the walking cycle state of the user sensed by the walking cycle detecting sensor, It is possible to enable walking assistance.

The driving devices 50a and 50b receiving the control signals from the controller can control the driving of the lower body supporting robot 100 by receiving current from the battery 115 and determining the driving direction or the driving force magnitude .

In addition, the controller may be configured such that various options are selected and stored by manual operation or setting according to the state of the user or the type of assist force.

The lower body supporting robot 100 that has been conventionally introduced allows only a degree of freedom with respect to the X-axis walking of the user standing up in the Z-axis direction on the X-Y plane.

When the lower body subordinate robot 100 is designed to have only the degree of freedom of the lower body joint in the Y axis direction (meaning the degree of walking in the X axis direction of the leg unit), the function of the lower body is completely lost, ), It is possible to implement a simpler and more accurate assistance to the user who depends on the behavior of the lower body.

However, if the lower body function of the user wearing the lower body supporting robot 100 is not completely lost as described above but is partially left, i.e., the function of one of the lower limbs of the user or the partial limb of the lower limb is lost The lower body auxiliary robot 100 designed to allow only the degree of freedom of the user's lower body in the walking direction may cause a sense of heterogeneity to the user if the function of the lower body such as the elderly person is lowered and the muscle strength is required to be assisted.

In other words, if only the limited degree of freedom of the joint is allowed for the user with a part of the function of the lower body supporting robot 100, the user can feel the inconvenience to the lower body supporting robot 100 accordingly.

Accordingly, it may be desirable that the lower body subordinate robot 100 be designed to appropriately allow the basic degree of freedom of the user's joint while accurately supporting the user's walking.

For this purpose, the lower body subordinate robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a lower body supporting robot 100, which is parallel to the Y axis direction, to allow freedom of the user's walking direction, lateral direction, The rotation degree of freedom of the center of the pitch axis (y '), the degree of freedom of rotation of the center of the roll axis (x') parallel to the X axis direction, and the degree of rotation of the yaw axis (z ') parallel to the Z axis direction , So that the user can be designed so as to minimize the inconvenience to the user's driving of the lower body supporting robot 100 by allowing a three-degree of freedom of the joint.

The three-degree of freedom of the lower body auxiliary robot 100 with respect to the user's lower body joint is possible through the structure of the connection structure of the pelvis members 120a and 120b and the hip joints 130a and 130b.

First, the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b are rotatable about the center of the roll axis x 'mounted on the body 110 and parallel to the X-axis direction, A degree of rotational freedom about the center of the roll axis x 'parallel to the axial direction can be tolerated.

Specifically, one end of each of the pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b may be hinged to the bottom of the front surface of the main body portion 110 by a rotation axis of each of the roll axes x ' 120a, 120b may be bent and extended in the lateral direction of the user so as to enclose both sides of the user's pelvis area.

Accordingly, one end of the pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b can be rotationally driven about the respective roll axes x 'with respect to the hinge-coupled main body portion 110, The both side pelvis areas of the user located in the region of the pelvis members 120a and 120b are also positioned on the same roll axis x 'as the pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b, Lt; / RTI >

Here, the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b have rotational degrees of freedom about the center of each roll axis x ', so that they are not driven as essential elements for the actual walking of the user, The movement can be allowed to conform to the user's walking situation for the user's more natural lower body behavior during the walking assistance of the user through the driving. A detailed description thereof will be described later.

The other ends of the pelvis members 120a and 120b that surround the pelvis region of the user are folded and extended in the lateral direction of the user so that the hip joints 130a, 130b may be connected to the hip joint 130a, 130b so that the hip joint 130a, 130b can be positioned in the hip region of the user.

The pelvis members 120a and 120b are formed by bending the other end from the main body 110 in the lateral direction of the user so that one end of the hip joints 130a and 130b is connected to the other end of the pelvis members 120a and 120b 120b may be mounted perpendicularly to the pelvis members 120a, 120b or may be mounted so as to face the other end of the pelvis members 120a, 120b toward the ground.

However, the connection structure of the pelvis members 120a and 120b and the hip joints 130a and 130b is such that the pelvis members 120a and 120b are located in the user's pelvis region and the hip joints 130a and 130b And is not particularly limited as long as it is a connected structure in a state of being located in the hip region of the user.

A pair of the hip joints 130a and 130b may be mounted on the respective pelvis members 120a and 120b and may have a center of a pitch axis y 'parallel to the Y- And can have rotational degrees of freedom.

Rotational degrees of freedom of the hips 130a and 130b and rotational driving of the hips 130a and 130b are included in the hip joints 130a and 130b to drive the lower body supporting robot 100 The rotation driving members 135a and 135b are rotated by the rotation driving members 135a and 135b.

FIG. 2 shows a part of each of the hip joint and the knee joint which is driven through a separate driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 (a), the rotation drive members 135a and 135b are hinged to the hip joints 130a and 130b at one end thereof with a pitch axis y 'parallel to the Y axis direction Can be included in the hip joints 130a and 130b and can be rotationally driven about the pitch axis y 'with respect to the hip joints 130a and 130b by receiving driving force from the driving devices 50a and 50b .

Therefore, the hip joints 130a and 130b have a rotational degree of freedom with respect to the center of the pitch axis y ', and the center of the pitch axis y' of the user's hip joint region located in the region of the hip joints 130a and 130b The degree of freedom of rotation can be tolerated.

One end of the femoral member 140a or 140b corresponding to the femoral region of the user may be mounted on the other end of the rotation drive member 135a or 135b to be driven according to the rotational drive of the rotation drive member 135a or 135b, The femoral support members 140a and 140b will be described later.

The hip joints 130a and 130b have a rotational degree of freedom about the center of the pitch axis y 'through the rotational driving of the rotational driving members 135a and 135b, The pelvis members 120a and 120b, which are driven to rotate with respect to the main body 110, are different from each other in driving characteristics.

That is, the pelvis members 120a and 120b are rotated by the pelvis members 120a and 120b with respect to the body 110 so that the roll axis x 'relative to the pelvis area of the lower body supporting robot 100 and the user, While the hip joints 130a and 130b mounted on the pelvis members 120a and 120b allow the rotational drive members 135a and 135b to rotate about the hip joints 130a and 130b, The rotational freedom of the center of the pitch axis y 'with respect to the hip joint region of the lower body supporting robot 100 and the user can be allowed through the rotational driving of the lower body supporting robot 100. [

Therefore, the pelvis members 120a and 120b can be understood as a structure allowing the degree of freedom of rotation of the corresponding region (the user's pelvis region) through the rotational degree of freedom of the center of the roll axis x ' 130b of the femoral support members 140a, 140b with respect to the hip joints 130a, 130b by rotational drive of the rotation drive members 135a, 135b through rotational degrees of freedom about the center of the pitch axis y ' (Y ') of the user's lower body through the formation of the pitch axis y'.

Rotation driving through the rotational degrees of freedom of the center of the pitch axis y 'of the hip joints 130a and 130b can provide direct walking assistance to the user's walking of the lower body supporting robot 100.

That is, as described above, the pelvis members 120a and 120b are allowed to rotate freely according to the state of the user's walking cycle, thereby realizing a more natural gait of the user, while the hip joints 130a and 130b have a pitch axis (y ') joint degree of freedom of the user's lower body through the rotation degree of freedom of the center of rotation of the rotary drive members 135a and 135b and the rotational drive of the rotary drive members 135a and 135b by the drive devices 50a and 50b The femur members 140a and 140b can be rotated.

The femoral support members 140a and 140b are connected to one ends of the rotation driving members 135a and 135b included in the hip joints 130a and 130b to correspond to the femoral region of the user, 135b may be rotationally driven in accordance with rotational driving of the center of the pitch axis y '.

The driving of the femoral members 140a and 140b with respect to the hip joints 130a and 130b can form a rotational angle of the femoral region with respect to the hip region of the user, thereby constituting the user's walking.

That is, the rotational driving of the center of the pitch axis y 'of the hip members 140a and 140b relative to the hip joints 130a and 130b secures the walking area of the lower body supporting robot 100 in the walking direction It is possible to directly participate in the walking assistance of the user through the lower body supporting robot 100.

The knee joint parts 150a and 150b corresponding to the knee area of the user may be connected to the other ends of the femoral parts 140a and 140b and the knee joint parts 150a and 150b may be coupled to the hip parts 160a and 160b. One end of the knee joint 150a and the knee joint 150b may be connected to each other and driven according to the driving of the knee joints 150a and 150b.

The other ends of the knee joints 150a and 150b may be connected to the femur members 140a and 140b to form a connection region between the femur members 140a and 140b and the hip members 160a and 160b, It is possible to drive the leg members 160a and 160b by being driven with respect to the ashes 140a and 140b.

Here, the knee joints 150a and 150b include driving devices 50a and 50b for rotating the hips 130a and 130b or driving devices 60a and 60b separately provided from the driving devices 50a and 50b The hips 130a and 130b and the knee joints 150a and 150b may be driven by sharing the same driving devices 50a and 50b or may be driven by respective independent driving devices 50a and 50b, The skeletal structure between the hip joints 130a and 130b and the knee joints 150a and 150b may be different depending on whether the knee joints are driven through the knee joints 60a and 60b.

When the lower body supporting robot 100 is designed such that the knee joints 150a and 150b are driven through the driving devices 50a, 50b, 60a, and 60b independent of the hip joints 130a and 130b, 130a and 130b are driven by the driving devices 50a and 50b provided in the regions of the hip joints 130a and 130b to move the hip joints 130a and 130b of the thigh members 140a and 140b The knee joint portions 150a and 150b are capable of rotating and driving the knee joint portions 150a and 150b of the knee joint portions 150a and 150b It is possible to drive the lower leg members 160a and 160b to rotate with respect to the knee joints 150a and 150b by being driven through driving devices 60a and 60b separate from the driving devices 50a and 50b 2 (b)).

The knee joints 150a and 150b may include rotation driving members 155a and 155b mounted with the leg members 160a and 160b and rotationally driven by the driving devices 50a and 50b, And the rotary drive members 135a and 135b of the hip joints 130a and 130b have the same functions as those of the rotary drive members 135a and 135b.

FIG. 3 illustrates a connection relationship between a hip joint and a knee joint driven by sharing the same driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The knee joint 150 'may also be driven through the driving device 50' that drives the hip joint 130 '.

In this case, since the knee joint 150 'is driven through the driving device 50' for driving the hinge 130 ', the driving force of the driving device 50' is transmitted to the knee joint 150 ' Which can be transmitted to the knee joint 150 ', which is a composite of the femoral member 140' and the separate link member 1 connecting the hip joint 130 'and the knee joint 150' It may be possible through driving.

For example, referring to FIG. 3, when the hip joint 130 'and the knee joint 150' are driven through one driving device 50 ', the hip joint 130' The first rotation driving member 136 and the second rotation driving member 137 may include a first rotation driving member 136 and a second rotation driving member 137 that are independently rotatably driven by a rotation shaft, And may include respective motors 51a 'and 51b' involved in rotation driving of the two-rotation driving member 137. [

Here, the first rotation driving member 136 may be mounted at one end of the femoral member 140 ', and may be rotated by driving the first rotation driving member 136 through the driving device 140' Thereby enabling rotational driving of the femoral component 140 'relative to the hip joint 130'.

The second rotation driving member 137 is connected to the knee joint 150 'at the other end so that a driving force provided from the driving device 50' can be transmitted to the knee joint 150 ' May be connected to one end of the member (1).

The link member 1 may be hinged to one end and the other end of the link member 1 with the second rotation drive member 136 and the knee joint 150 'at a position parallel to the femoral member 140' The link member 1 is pulled and driven so as to be directed upward or downward through the rotation driving of the second rotation driving member 137 through the driving device 50 ' The rotation angle of the knee joint 150 'is formed by the driving of the knee joint 150', that is, the skeletal structure of the femoral component 140 'and the hip member 160' To rotate the hip member 160 'relative to the base member 160'.

Referring to FIG. 3, the first rotation driving member 136 may be driven by one driving device 50 ', for example, by driving the hip joint 130' and the knee joint 150 ' The horseshoe member 140 'may be rotationally driven in the walking direction of the user through the driving unit 50', and the horseshoe member 140 'may be rotationally driven in the walking direction of the user with respect to the hips 130'.

The second rotation driving member 137 may be rotated in a direction opposite to the user's gait through the driving device 50 'and may be rotated through the driving of the femoral member 140' The knee joint 150 'may be driven to rotate the knee joint 150' in the opposite direction by driving the hip member 160 'in the direction opposite to the user's walking with respect to the knee joint 150'.

As described above, the hip joint 130 'and the knee joint 150' are connected to the first rotation driving member 136 and the second rotation driving member 136, which are rotationally driven independently by the same rotary shaft through one driving device 50 ' Can be driven through the driving of the rotation driving member 137 and the combined driving of the femoral member 140 'and the link member 1 accordingly.

One end of each of the femoral member 140 'and the link member 1 is connected to the first rotation drive member 136 and the second rotation drive member 137 which are rotationally driven by the same rotation axis, The link member 1 can be pulled and driven by the independent rotation of the femoral member 140 'so that the knee joint 150' can be driven, and the knee joint 150 ' Also, the femoral member 140 'may be pulled and driven by the independent rotation of the link member 1 to drive the knee joint 150'.

As described above, since the hip joint 130 'and the knee joint 150' are driven through one driving device 50 'or independently driven by a separate independent driving device, The skeleton structure change from the hip joint 130 'to the knee joint 150' as with the presence of the member 1 can be possible.

The skeleton structure between the hip joint 130 'and the knee joint 150' may be different depending on the type or number of the driving devices 50 'provided in the lower body supporting robot 100 as described above 1 and 2, the haptics 130a and 130b and the knee joints 130a and 130b may be omitted, and a detailed explanation and examples thereof may be omitted. Hereinafter, for the sake of a more concise description and understanding of the present specification, The lower body supporting robot 100 according to the present invention will be described as an example in which the driving mechanisms 150a and 150b are driven through the independent driving devices 50a, 50b, 60a and 60b provided in the respective regions.

The rotational movement of the lower leg members 160a and 160b causes rotation of the knee joints 150a and 150b that provides the other end of the femoral members 140a and 140b and the one end of the lower leg members 160a and 160b, And the angle of rotation of the knee joints 150a and 150b is determined by the angle of rotation of the lower body supporting robot 100 in accordance with the ground contacting or noncontact state of the lower leg members 160a and 160b, You can complete the form.

That is, the leg members 160a and 160b are driven in the walking region of the lower body supporting robot 100 secured through the femoral members 140a and 140b, It is possible to perform the swing operation in the ground supporting direction or the walking direction for driving and to complete the walking operation of the lower body supporting robot 100 through the swing operation.

The foot members 180a and 180b for supporting the lower body supporting robot 100 may be mounted on the lower portions of the lower leg members 160a and 160b from the ground.

The foot members 180a and 180b may be configured as a material having an elastic force so as to cancel the ground reaction force that can be transmitted from the ground according to the load support of the lower body supporting robot 100 and the ground support, A roll axis x 'parallel to the X-axis direction, a pitch axis y' parallel to the Y-axis direction, and a pitch axis y 'parallel to the Z-axis direction for more flexible floor support and natural walking during driving of the auxiliary robot 100 May be configured to have a three-degree of freedom with respect to the yaw axis center.

The three-degree-of-freedom of the foot members 180a and 180b is determined by the connection structure of the foot members 180a and 180b to the lower parts of the foot members 160a and 160b or the internal connection of the foot members 180a and 180b Structure, which can be provided in various forms when designing the lower body supporting robot 100, so that a detailed description thereof can be omitted.

The lower body supporting robot 100 described above can determine the rotational degrees of freedom of the center of the roll axis x 'of the pelvis members 120a and 120b and the rotational degrees of freedom of the center of the pitch axis y' of the hip joints 130a and 130b (X ') and the pitch axis (y') with respect to the running direction in the X-axis direction.

FIG. 4 illustrates the hip joints 130a and 130b mounted on the pelvis members 120a and 120b so as to be rotatable according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Here, the hip joints 130a and 130b driven at the center of the pitch axis y 'are not only rotatable about the center of the pitch axis y' but also about the center of the YAW axis parallel to the Z- 120b so that the hip joints 130a and 130b can rotate about the center of the yaw axis z to the pelvis members 120a and 120b, And the like.

The rotation of the hip joints 130a and 130b with respect to the pelvis members 120a and 120b is not directly realized by driving the lower body supporting robot 100 to the user, Alternatively, the lower body supporting robot 100 may be implemented only in accordance with its own rotational degree of freedom with respect to the rotational degree of freedom of the lower body of the user wearing the lower body supporting robot 100, (Z ') parallel to the Z-axis direction of the lower body supporting robot 100 to reduce the inconvenience and pain of driving the lower body supporting robot 100 to the user wearing the lower body supporting robot 100 .

The lower body subordinate robot 100 according to the present invention has the center of the pitch axis y 'of the hip joints 130a and 130b and the knee joints 150a and 150b having a rotational degree of freedom about the pitch axis y' It is possible to assist the user in walking in the walking direction.

The hip joints 130a and 130b allow the user to rotate about the axis y 'and the center of the yaw axis z', and the pelvis members 120a and 120b are rotatable about the roll axis since the lower body supporting robot 100 allows the lower body of the user to have a three-degree of freedom (the degrees of freedom of each of the pitch axis y 'and the yaw axis z' in the hip joint region) Degree of freedom of the center of the roll axis (x ') of the pelvic region).

The allowable three-degree-of-freedom rotation of the lower body sub-robot 100 with respect to the user's lower body is provided to a user having some function or muscle strength without completely losing the lower body function, It is possible to provide walking assistance in the walking direction while allowing the wearer to perform the gait behavior more naturally since the flexibility of the joint accompanying the lower body behavior of the normal person can be maximally imitated even when the lower body function is completely lost. .

The user who mounts the lower body supporting robot 100 can be provided with the strength of the lower body for the purpose of walking due to the lowering or loss of the lower body muscle strength from the lower body supporting robot 100.

However, the user of the lower body supporting robot 100 in which the lower body muscle strength is lowered or lost has a function of the lower body that must be accompanied by essential for the normal gait behavior in addition to the muscle force for joint rotation in the walking direction, for example, It is possible to show an abnormality of the function of abduction of the abduction.

FIG. 5 shows the walking of the Trandelane burg and the normal walking according to the lowering of the abduction of the user.

In particular, the lower body of a normal person starts from the iliac crest of the pelvic girdle during gait, and then through the mullus muscle (Musculus glutaeus medius) (Fig. 5 (b)). However, when the lower limb muscle strength is lowered or lost, the lower limb is lowered or the lower limb is lowered (Weakening of the gluteus maximus), a motion (adduction) in which the legs approach to the center direction is generated, and the trendelenburg gait phenomenon (Fig. 5 have.

Such a transverse bending of the treads causes an overload to occur in the yaw axis, the ceiling joint, the hip joint, and the knee structure of the user, which may cause the user's lower joint to be excessively worn. If the user is designed without taking into account the prevention of the tremolenbug walking, it may cause a more serious lower limb disability of the user who needs muscle strength assistance of the lower body.

However, since the lower body supporting robot 100 has a large number of component parts and a large amount of metal materials are used, a load of the robot body itself exists, and the load of the lower body supporting robot 100 and the user It is possible to induce or exacerbate the abnormal walking such as the above-mentioned Trandelane burg.

Specifically, the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b are extended to wrap the user's pelvic region from the respective roll axes, which are the hinge coupling axes for the respective body portions 110, to wrap the pelvis region of the user, The weight of the components constituting the pelvis members 130a and 130b to the hip members 160a and 160b forming the skeletal structure from each of the pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b is the weight A rotational torque may be generated so that the phenomenon occurs.

Therefore, when the lower body supporting robot 100 is driven, the pelvis members 120a and 120b corresponding to the user's lower limbs during the swinging period are connected to the hip joints 130a and 130b, which are connected to the pelvis members 120a and 120b, All of the skeletal structures must be supported through the roll axles on the main body 110. As a result, due to the weight of the skeleton structure that is outwardly centered as described above, centering between the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b about the roll axis .

In general, since the user who wears the lower body supporting robot 100 does not support the loads of the pelvis members 120a and 120b that are adduced by the lowered muscular force, the pelvis members 120a and 120b are not in contact with each other, A rotation torque due to an internal breakdown of the motor can be generated.

Therefore, the lower body subordinate robot 100 needs to compensate for the supporting force or the supporting torque for suppressing the rotation torque that causes the internal resistance of the pelvis members 120a, 120b corresponding to the user's lower limb during the swinging period.

In addition to the purpose of preventing the internal resistance of the pelvis members 120a and 120b caused by the load of the framework structure formed from the pelvis members 120a and 120b as described above, Assisted by the user's body and the external electric power for preventing the internal resistance due to the load of the lower body supporting robot 100 to the lower body of the user whose abduction function has been lowered due to the lowering of the lower body muscles such as the sternum muscle, It is appropriate that the lower body supporting robot 100 is designed to prevent the internal resistance of the pelvis members 120a and 120b.

Therefore, the lower body subordinate robot 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured to have a three-degree-of-freedom with respect to the center of the pitch axis y ', the roll axis x' and the yaw axis z ' And may further include the abduction prevention means 170 to prevent the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b of the lower body subordinate robot 100 from being subjected to internal combustion.

Fig. 6 shows a partial area of each of the lower body supporting robot without the anti-adherence unit and the lower body supporting robot including the anti-adverse unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

6 (a), before the lower body supporting robot 100 including the abduction preventing unit 170 according to an embodiment of the present invention is described, the abduction preventing unit 170 is included The lower body subordinate robot 100 which is not in contact with the lower body.

6A, the lower body supporting robot 100 not including the anti-adduction unit 170 includes a main body 110 and a pair of hinge-coupled hinge- The pivot members 120a and 120b of the pivot member 120 can be rotated about the center of the roll axis.

Herein, the pelvis members 120a and 120b allow the user who is assisted by the lower body supporting robot 100 to have a degree of freedom with respect to abduction and adduction at the center of the roll axis of the pelvis region, Each of the pelvis members 120a and 120b includes the hip joints 130a and 130b, the femur members 140a and 140b, the knee joints 150a and 150b, and the hip joint members 160a and 160b And the like, as the central axis of the drive to the main body 110. [

Specifically, the pelvis member 120b corresponding to the user's lower limb during the swinging period performs a swing operation according to the swinging period or a load from the main body 110, which is separated from the ground and does not support the ground, And the pelvis 120a corresponding to the user's lower limbs during the erection is supported by the ground reaction force which can be transmitted according to the ground support of the lower limb during the erection and the load of the user's body and the lower body supporting robot 100 Should be.

However, the pelvis member 120b corresponding to the lower limb of the user during the swinging period is configured so that the weight of the hip joint 130b to the hip member 160b forming the skeletal relationship with the pelvis member 120b is reduced 110, an adiabatic torque can be generated in the center direction between the pair of pelvis members 120a, 120b due to the load concentrated on the outside from the roll axis acting as the hinge axis on the body portion 110 .

6 (b), the lower body supporting robot 100 according to the present invention connects a pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b so that a pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b May direct the abduction abduction.

The abduction prevention unit 170 connects the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b to each other so as to rotate the pivot members 120a and 120b in the inward direction about the center of the roll axis x ' A restoring force or a restoring torque can be generated.

FIG. 7 illustrates the repulsion for compression of the anti-adduction unit 170 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Specifically, the adiabatic prevention unit 170 transmits external power through a repulsive force to a pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b by applying a restoring force to the internal resistance of the pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b, The pelvis members 120a and 120b are not particularly limited as long as they can prevent the internal resistance of the members 120a and 120b. For example, (120a, 120b) may be provided in the form of a gas spring (170).

The gas spring 170 includes a cylinder 171 having one end closed and the other end opened and a rod 172 reciprocating inside the cylinder 171 through the opening of the cylinder 171. [ And both ends of the gas spring 170, that is, the closed end of the cylinder 171 and the end protruding from the cylinder 171 of the rod 172 are connected to the respective pelvis members 120a 120b so as to interconnect the pair of pelvis members 120a, 120b.

The gas spring 170 connects the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b through both ends so that when at least one of the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b is subjected to an internal force, The gas inside the cylinder 171 is inserted into the cylinder 171 so that the gas inside the cylinder 171 is compressed and the piston 172 protruding from the inside of the cylinder 171 is repelled by the compression of the gas, It is possible to prevent or mitigate the internal resistance of the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b by generating external electric or external electric charges in the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b.

Hereinafter, the lower body supporting robot 100 according to the present invention can be described as an example in which the anti-adduction unit 170 is provided in the form of the gas spring 170. In the above-described anti-adduction unit 170, Is not particularly limited as long as it is capable of assisting mutual abduction of the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b. In addition to the gas spring 170 mentioned below, It will be appreciated that the application to the lower body assistance is also possible.

The gas spring 170 is not actively driven by the driving devices 50a and 50b like the hip joints 130a and 130b as described above, It is possible to provide a restoring force for restoring or compensating for an abduction action according to the degree of freedom of rotation of the pelvis member or the like in accordance with the user's erecting or stance gait according to the auxiliary box.

Such a restoring force of the gas spring 170 may be provided in such a manner that each of the pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b is capable of generating a compensating torque with both ends of the gas spring 170. [

The gas spring 170 generates a repulsive force through the gas compression in the cylinder 171 through the internal resistance of the pelvis members 120a and 120b to restore the restoring force against the internal torque of the pelvis members 120a and 120b Or restoration torque of the pelvis members 120a and 120b, so that the adiative bending characteristic of the pelvis members 120a and 120b can be converted into the abduction bending characteristic.

That is, the gas spring 170 can generate the restoring force that cancels the rotational driving due to the internal overrun of the pelvis members 120a and 120b corresponding to the pelvis region of the user's leg during the erecting period or the erecting period. , The adduction directivity characteristic of the pelvis members 120a and 120b can be converted into the abduction directivity characteristic.

As described above, the gas spring 170 naturally generates a restoring force or a restoring torque for the abduction torque through the adiabatic phenomenon of the pelvis members 120a and 120b, which may generally appear during driving of the lower body supporting robot 100 Since the driving efficiency can be naturally increased through the driving element which can lead to a decrease in efficiency during driving of the lower body supporting robot 100, the lower body supporting robot 100 can be operated manually without requiring a separate driving device, Can be improved.

The repulsive force generated by the compression of the inner gas of the gas spring 170 generates a linear movement in accordance with the insertion and protrusion of the rod 172 capable of piston motion in the cylinder 171, The linear movement of the gas spring 170 that forms the hinge connection with the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b through the hinge joints 120a and 120b is performed by hinging the respective roll axes x ' The pelvis members 120a and 120b can be converted into rotational motion for abduction of the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b.

The connection of the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b through the gas spring 170 may be controlled by adjusting the degree of abduction of the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b, , 120b can be driven within an appropriate angle range.

That is, since the gas spring 170 has a length range corresponding to the insertion and protrusion of the rod 172, the pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b can be formed in the shape of a cylinder, The rod 172 can be driven to rotate by a rotation angle corresponding to a length at which the rod 172 can protrude due to the repulsion due to the gas compression inside the rod 171, thereby preventing excessive abduction of the remaining pelvis members.

Therefore, the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b for the internal resistance of one of the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b through the connection of the pair of pelvis members 120a and 120b through the gas spring 170, The restoring force of the lower body supporting robot 100 can effectively prevent the abduction of the pelvis member and prevent the other pelvis members connected to the lower body from being excessively abducted to enable stable and natural walking assistance of the lower body supporting robot 100 .

If the pelvis members 120a and 120b are connected to each other through the one gas spring 170 and are not supported at the same time, the gas spring 170, If the abutment is supported through the other kind of the anti-adduction unit 170 in addition to the gas spring 170, each of the pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b may have excessive abduction assist torque Natural walking can be impossible.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent a strong internalization of a pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b mutually connected by the internal-strength-preventive unit 170 by preventing the internal parts of the hip joints 130a and 130b, which are mounted on the pelvis members 120a and 120b, It is possible to drive.

Further, the rotational driving of the pair of hips 130a and 130b stably supported through the pair of the pelvis members 120a and 120b is performed by a pair of the hips 130a and 130b connected to the pair of hips 130a and 130b The leg members 160a and 160b and the foot members 180a and 180b can be stably driven as well as the femoral members 140a and 140b of the knee joints 150a and 150b and the knee joints 150a and 150b, It is natural.

The lower body subordinate robot 100 according to the present invention as described above appropriately grasps the basic degree of freedom of the user's lower body joint, thereby eliminating the user's inconvenience in driving the lower body subordinate robot 100, .

The lower body subordinate robot 100 includes the above-described degree of freedom configuration and is configured to include the degree of freedom configuration of the lower body subordinate robot 100, more specifically, the rotation of the center of the roll axis of the pelvis members 120a and 122b It is possible to provide a more stable and natural walking assist of the lower body supporting robot 100 with respect to the user by providing an anti-seizure function of the pelvis members 120a and 102b which may be in conflict with the degree of freedom.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate rather than limit the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

100: Lower body supporting robot 110:
120a, 120b: pelvis members 130a, 130b: hip joint part
140a, 140b: Femur member 150a, 150b:
160a, 160b: a hip member 170: an anti-adduction unit

Claims (10)

A lower body supporting robot for assisting a user's gait movement in the X-axis direction in a Z-axis direction on an XY plane,
A main body part to be worn on the torso of the user and to provide power and control signals;
A pair of pelvis members mounted on the body portion and having a rotational degree of freedom in the center of a roll axis ROLL AXIS parallel to the X axis direction;
A pair of hip joints mounted on the pelvis and rotatably driven by a driving device for driving the lower body supporting robot and having a rotational degree of freedom in the center of the pitch axis PITCH AXIS parallel to the Y axis direction for walking in the X axis direction, ;
A pair of femoral members, one end of which is connected to the hip joint and is driven according to the driving of the hip joint;
A pair of leg members connected to the other end of the femoral member through a knee joint portion driven by the drive unit or a drive unit provided separately; And
And an abduction unit for connecting a pair of the pelvis members and generating a restoring force against internal rotation which is an internal rotation of the center of the roll axis of the pelvis member,
One end of the pair of pelvis members is hinged to the bottom of the front surface of the main body part so that the roll axis is rotatably rotatable about a rotation axis, the hip joint is mounted to the other end of the pair of pelvis members, And the other end of the pelvis is bent to extend in a lateral direction of the user, and the hip joint is hinged to the other end of the pelvis so as to allow a yaw axis (YAW)
Wherein the internal-strength-preventing unit is a gas spring horizontally mounted on a lower region of one end of the pair of pelvis members, and when the pelvis member of any one of the pair of pelvis members is rotated in the internal rotation direction, Wherein the restoring force generated by the repulsive force acts on the pair of pelvis members. delete delete delete delete delete The method according to claim 1,
The hip joint and the knee joint are driven by a single driving device, and the knee joint is combinedly driven by a femoral component driven by the driving device and a separate link member connecting the hip joint and the knee joint Wherein the lower body supporting robot comprises: The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the main body includes a battery for supplying power to the driving device for driving the driving device and a controller for controlling driving of the lower body supporting robot by applying a control signal according to the user's intention to walk to the driving device Wherein the lower body supporting robot comprises: The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the main body part is in the form of a backpack detachable so that its front surface is opposed to the back area of the user. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a foot member attached to a lower portion of the lower leg member to support the lower body supporting robot from a ground surface.

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